


Sky of the Summer Star

by Estirose



Category: Kamen Rider 555
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 16:59:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12988449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: Takumi finds refuge in a shop owned by somebody who shouldn't even be alive.





	Sky of the Summer Star

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ozuttly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozuttly/gifts).



> I've tried to set this as close to post-canon as I possibly could in a fantasy setting, so there are vague spoilers for the last few episodes of Faiz.

Takumi cursed as he almost ran along the street. He'd never wanted recognition for what he'd done to shut down the Society of the Erudite Mind. But now that secret was out, along with the whole other secret he'd had - that he was a were. Society didn't know what to do with weres, in general, though the might accept him - for at least a day, until the idea of a were hero wore off. He was the only one of Orphenoch blood, at least that he knew of - after all, Yuuji and the rest of his little family had died. Or at least he presumed so with Kaido- the weresnake could be crafty when he put his mind to it.

"Look, there he is!" It was someone he'd dealt with, a regular at the tavern that Keitaro and Mari ran. Takumi had only stayed with them because he'd liked barkeeping. He didn't really like customers that much, but he liked pouring alcohol and seeing people enjoy it.

He ducked into the nearest shop, not caring what it handled, just that it was there.

It was quiet at least, for a stunned second. "You must be Inui Takumi!" a voice said cheerfully. 

"Shit," he muttered, turning to leave.

"Takumi?" That was a familiar voice, and even he stopped. It was- no, Yuuji was dead, after he'd helped Takumi take care of the leader of the Society. He dared a good look, only to realize that if the person behind the counter wasn't Kiba Yuuji, he certainly looked like him.

There were only two other people in the store. One was Yuka, and he'd thought she'd died too, her death causing Yuuji to be brainwashed by the society. But she was very much there in the flesh, staring at him as her pile of stock lay forgotten.

The third person must have been the one who had spoken. She was pale-skinned, and probably from a land farther south. Her eyes sparkled annoyingly and she was grinning. "Good to meet you. Katida Ekfel. I work sometimes with Teo'reikaa, and she'd like to hire you for a job sometime. She's at the Shallot Meadow for the next moth or so so, if you're interested. Yuuji, Yuka, it was good to see you. I'm heading back to my own dragon - Teo'reikaa really would like me to get home and take care of some personal matters."

With that, Ekfel slipped out the door. Or was the name Katida? Those kinds of names always drove Takumi crazy.

"Yuuji." There wasn't much that he could get out of his mouth.

"I'm alive." Yuuji gave him a watery smile. "I'm not sure how. Yuka, could you watch the shop?"

Yuka gave him a startled nod. "Yes?"

Takumi still wasn't sure if this was Yuuji or not, but he followed him up anyway. It would give him time to think, at least. Time to get his thoughts together and decide what to do with both this knowledge and how parts of the city suddenly knew that Inui Takumi was a werewolf. He wondered if anybody knew about Yuuji and Yuka; after all, they'd been involved too.

"Here's the door." he swept a curtain aside and unlocked the door behind it. "Let's have some coffee."

"I don't like hot drinks." He wasn't sure if Yuuji liked that.

"Yuka doesn't like those either." They went into a back room, past supplies, and into the trio's house. There were stairs, so the trio probably lived upstairs. There was also a small kitchen with an ice box. Yuuji reached into it and pulled a bottle out, then pulled a cup out of a cupboard. "Here, why don't you sit down?"

Sitting down sounded really good at the moment, actually. He made himself comfortable while Yuuji poured a brownish drink into a cup, presumably the cold coffee. Yuuji poured the rest into a pan and heated it up. Maybe it was the family's coffee, brewed cold and then heated hot. Takumi could drink coffee, but it wasn't his favorite. He took a sip of it finding it rather sweet. Apparently whoever made it had a real sweet tooth, or brewed it according to one of those sweet coffee recipes. It was pleasant enough, at least.

"I hope you like it," Yuuji said. "Yuka brews all of our coffee. Her family made her make all the food and drinks, so she's the best cook of the three of us, I'm afraid."

"It's all right," Takumi allowed. He watched Yuuji work on heating the drink. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought I was dead," Yuuji said. He hadn't turned around, but Takumi could see his smile. "But I'm not. Teo'reikaa thinks that Yuka and I were revived for some strange reason - maybe the gods still needed all of us. Or it was a reward for just doing the right thing, in the end. Katida - that's the girl that was in here - was hoping to find me some answers, but she didn't find any."

"Right." Of course, nobody would have an answer as to why the two were alive. It wasn't something that would make sense. "So, how long have you been back?"

"A few months. Yuka and I woke up in the woods - that's why we have no idea which deity's responsible for us being alive." Yuuji's attention was still on the coffee. "Nobody knew that we were dead, and Kaido survived and didn't know either, so I was able to open this shop. He's out making money playing. Whatever revived us healed his hand, as if it had never been broken."

"Oh." He didn't care all that much for Kaido, and Kaido probably didn't care much for him.

Yuuji finished heating the coffee. "Teo'reikaa told me where you were living and working, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me again." he looked at his coffee, as if it would tell him anything.

Takumi snorted at this. As Mari and Keitaro were fond of mentioning, Yuuji was a nice guy. Got misled at the end after Yuka's apparent death, but he was a good guy. "Mari and Keitaro would be glad to see you back."

Maybe Yuuji brightened at that; it was hard to tell. "I like them too. Do you like Yuka and Kaido?"

Did he want to tell Yuuji the truth? That Kaido was somewhat of an asshole? He swore that sometimes Yuuji was too nice for the world. Maybe Yuka was too, it was hard to tell sometimes.

"So, why'd the dragon want you to come and find me?" Takumi asked.

"She didn't say, but I suspect." Yuuji looked thoughtful. Takumi was about to ask, but then Yuka was calling from the front.

"Yuuji, Doug says we have the order for Granny Blossom's medicine; do we?"

"I think he meant to go to the apothecary," Yuuji called back, and returned his attention to Takumi. "They're from Selphia; Blossom treats Doug as her grandson, but I don't think he is."

Takumi tried not to react with annoyance. Sometimes Yuuji reminded him so much of Keitaro, with Keitaro's insistence of knowing everything he could about the neighbors and regulars. 

"You're not very social, are you?" Yuuji asked softly and Takumi was sure that he meant the question kindly, but it still rankled.

"Don't have to be. I tend bar."

Yuuji laughed, and Takumi was actually relieved to hear it. "I would have said tending bar was very social."

"Not for me." He shook his head, causing Yuuji to laugh even more, but then he sobered up. 

"So, how did you end up here? I can tell you weren't looking for me, at least."

Takumi's old wariness returned. Even with Yuuji sitting there, all concerned, he wasn't sure if he could talk about it. But maybe things would have been better if he had. "Just some trouble."

"Oh." Thankfully, he didn't think Yuuji would be the kind of person to push. He'd never seemed to have been. "If you want to talk about it...."

"No." He shook his head. "So, you know wants with me?"

"Probably the same thing she wants with me," Yuuji said. "It has something to do with an artifact that the Society of the Erudite Mind was looking for in an old Gnome outpost somewhere outside Whiterock Castle."

That didn't tell him much. He knew where the castle was, that it was some kind of former monastery at some point, but that was about it.

"Katida said that there are still sympathizers and they're spreading rumors. If this artifact is what she thinks it is, they're probably trying to get someone to go after it."

"...Right." Was that why suddenly a lot of people knew that he was a werewolf? Did they know about the others?

"You know something about this."

"Yeah." He definitely didn't want to talk to Yuuji about it. Not while he didn't know what was going on. 

Yuuji gave him a gentle smile. "It's good to see you again, then. Where do you work?"

"Drake Tavern. Down on Stone City Road." Takumi motioned in the general direction. Yuuji would find it if he wanted to.

"I'll bring the others some time." Yuuji sipped at his coffee. Takumi remembered that he was holding his. "If you don't mind?"

"Do what you want," he said, and he was sure it came out rougher than he meant. But from the look in Yuuji's eyes, he understood. He sipped at the coffee. It was actually very good, come to think of it.

"I will." There was no judgement, no anger. Simple acceptance, not pushing, just being. Takumi didn't mind that at all. He still couldn't bring himself to say anything about what had brought him there, but it didn't matter at the moment. Yuuji was alive, he seemed to be happy, and Takumi finally felt that he could be too.


End file.
